Mass effect Pariah
by Urdnot Goat
Summary: My take on the events in mass effect 2-my first attempt at writting so i apologise in advance for the little errors around thanks :
1. Chapter 1

1"Shepard is going to totally wreck this thing one day"... Garrus muttered to himself as he lay under the still damaged mako tank..The statement was pointless as Shepard had already broken it multiple times since the Geth attack on Eden prime, and was currently on the fifth replacement, and besides the point he actually enjoyed it, calibrating large machines was a hobby of his, allowing him to drift off and feel alone with his thoughts.

Since he joined Shepard he found himself thinking a lot more, he had always struggled to find comfort in his life, hating the rules and regulations that came with being an officer (and a Turian), but the conversations he had with the commander got him thinking more than any other event, hours would fly by without him noticing.

A sudden, violent shudder snapped him out of his day-dream causing him to drop his wrench which fell and landed painfully on his brow plate. Thinking fast his rolled himself out from under the mako a bare second before it slammed loudly to the floor of the cargo bay.

"What the hell,? Adams what's going on?" he shouted, running towards the lift, Stumbling as another shudder rocked the ship, he could hear the sound of tearing metal echoing around the ship.

"Don't have a clue Garrus, but it's not good" came a shout as Adams came running from the engineering room.

Suddenly the Lights dimmed red across the room and emergency sirens sounded,

"Damn it!" Adams shouted as he started to climb the emergency ladder, "we need to get to deck two NOW"

Wordlessly Garrus began to climb up the emergency shaft after him, even over the loud wail of the sirens he could make out Jokers voice shouting over the comm... "This is the SSV Normandy, we are under attack from and unknown enemy, we are requesting immediate assistance"...

"Will the Alliance get here in time?" Ashley shouted over the sirens as Shepard clicked his helmet into place,

"They damn well better, I didn't do all this so they could find our frozen corpses" Shepard shouted in reply, now trying in vain to extinguish the flames erupting from the computer panels.

"Jokers still at the helm, he's refusing to give up the Normandy, im not leaving either", Ashley said grabbing another extinguisher and joining Shepard.

With an exasperated sigh Shepard smacked the extinguisher out of Ashley's hands "Get everyone to the escape shuttles, ill haul Jokers crippled ass out off here"

"But john..." Ashley protested

"GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE!" shouted Shepard Slamming his hand down on the last remaining functional holo-panel sending the abandon ship command throughout the Normandy. Turning around he saw Ashley running down towards the escape shuttles.

Nothing is ever easy, He Thought to himself as he began to sprint up towards the bridge.

"Damn it" John said to himself as he felt the magnet soles on his feet activate, it could only mean that the bridge had lost power and gravity, he swore to himself again when he felt the vacuum suck the air out as the bridge doors opened

How bad is ..., his thoughts trailed off as he stepped out onto the bridge and saw for himself the extent of the damage, The roof of the bridge was no longer there, exposing a beautiful yet dangerous view of the nearby planet. Out of this hole he could even see one wing cut off at the second engine, the sight almost brought him to tears.

Jokers distress signal over the speakers in his hardsuit snapped him out of his trance, remembering why he was there made his way to the cockpit as fast as his magnetic soles would allow.

"Come on joker we need to leave" John said as he passed through the cockpit's mass effect barrier

"NO! I wont abandon the Normandy! Joker Protested, "I can still save her!"

"The Normandy is dead, just like us if we don't get out of here!" john shouted pointing at the numerous failure warnings on the dashboard.

"NO! I JUST NEED TO...Oh no no.. They're coming around for another attack!"

John turned around just in time to see a directed energy beam cut through the floor of the bridge, quickly he spun and grabbed joker by the arm, ignoring his complaints he dragged him toward the emergency shuttle opposite the docking entry, He could have kissed the designer of the bridge right then-human or Turian.

Out of the corner of his eye he could see the energy beam moving towards them, he unceremoniously threw Joker into the shuttle just as an explosion sent him staggering back, the magnetic soles on his feet failing.

Holding on the ruined surface of the wall he saw the energy beam was coming dangerously close to the escape pod, he looked up into Jokers eyes, reading the fear and panic there as joker realized what John was about to do.

"Commander? Commander NO!", john heard him shout as he activated the shuttle, launching joker out towards the other escape pods.

Closing his eyes john felt himself flung like a rag doll by the force of dozens of explosions.

Suddenly they stopped, john opened his eyes and saw he had been blown completely clear of the ship by the smaller explosions, he could only watch as one final explosion fragmented the Normandy and sent it falling out of control towards the nearby planet.

Taking a deep breath he reached to activate his emergency locator when a burst of white mist clouded his vision, panicking he grabbed at the area around his throat and felt several small shards of metal protruding from his hardsuit, no.. he heard another leak spring from the back of his helmet, reaching up he grabbed at the leaks trying in vain to halt the flow of precious oxygen, he tried to inhale, but there was nothing to breathe in, completely lost in panic he flailed around gripping his neck desperately trying to draw in a breath that wouldn't comes, darkness creeping in.

As his vision faded to black he could swear he heard Dr. Chakwas's medical equipment beeping away and the sound of a woman shouting.


	2. Chapter 2

1

"Wilson for the last time, your estimates are off, I can see it" Miranda said in a even tone clearly at the end of her patience. "We need to run the numbers again, we can't take any risks with him, we need him exactly as he was".

"Miranda, I am the one who spent 15 years at med school, I am the one who never got anything lower than an A, I am the one who the illusive man chose as head doctor, being on this project for two years does not give you the right to question my work, no matter how 'perfect' you may be." Wilson replied with a casual arrogance in his voice.

"No Wilson, the fact I am project director gives me the right, I will not see Shepard compromised because you're to arrogant to admit you made a mistake", Miranda's voice had not been raised, but her voice now had a dangerous edge to it, an edge that Wilson did not pick up on.

" I have gotten him to this point already god damn it, look at him! He was dead, now he's alive, breathing unassisted! Though his brain activity may be..." His voice trailed off as he was distracted by something on the medical terminal. "My god" he whispered.

Pain. It was pain that defined him. It was everywhere, it seemed to surround him, threatening to suffocate him. On some level he was aware of his body but it seemed to him they were an extension of the pain rather than of himself.

Why were they so loud? He thought. Who was loud? What was loud? People? They were voices! They were not happy, they were muffled and unintelligible but they were there, coming through a sea of agony. Weakly he called out to them but all he managed was a small groan. Slowly he opened his eyes.

White, it was pure, clean white, as if he floated in some sort of void. Slowly shapes began to form, one was moving toward him, as it came closer he realized it was a woman.

"Miranda I think he's waking up!" A voice said.

Turning his head he saw a man standing over him, a look of wonder on his face.

"Damn it Wilson he's not ready yet, give him the sedative" it was a woman's voice now.

Who's not ready? He thought, he tried to reach for the woman's shoulder to get her attention but he only managed to raise his arm half way. But the woman did notice, she grabbed his arm and lowered it back down, a concerned expression on her face.

"Shepard, don't try to move, just lie still, try to remain calm"

Who is Shepard? He tried to say, but yet again only a small groan came out. His pain was increasing, the thumping in his chest was impossibly fast.

"Heart rate still climbing, brain activity off the charts, stats pushing up into the red zone, it's not working!" The man's voice was panicked

"Another dose, now" Said the woman, no trace of her concern in here voice.

Suddenly a cool soothing feeling spread throughout his body, quelling the flames of agony. The voices returned to their muffled, senseless state, his vision began to blur but before his eyes closed he again saw the woman looking down on him, and for the first time he realized just how beautiful she was.

"Will the alliance get there in time? He heard Ashley ask.

"They damn well better, im not doing this so they can find our frozen corpses" He said focused on the remaining terminal in front of him. Why do I hurt so much? He thought.

"Shepard!" another voiced yelled.

Turning he saw no one, in fact there was nothing familiar, just a fiery corridor, exposed pipes jutted from the walls, mist sprayed from the ceiling in a vain attempt to control the flames. Where am I? He thought to himself.

"SHEPARD!" the voiced yelled again, he could hear her urgency.

He sprinted, fire bursting from the walls threatening to incinerate him, an explosion caused him to stumble but he rose and continued to run, a second explosion threw him to the ground. Suddenly she was there, her piercing blue eyes looking down on him, long black hair framed her beautiful face.

"Shepard wake up" she yelled.

"What?" Shepard tried to ask but only a confused groan came out. He closed his eyes as another explosion rocked him, he opened them only to find himself back in the white room. Immediately he sat up and wished he didn't, fire shot through his side, only adding to the painful aching across the rest of his body.

"This facility is under attack Shepard, your scars aren't healed but I need you to get moving, there is equipment in the locker behind you"

Looking out the windows of his room he could see fires raging, bullets and shadowy figures moving through the smoke. Slowly he made his way to the locker.

He didn't know how but he knew the exact process for putting this armor on. N7, it seemed familiar to him, the pistol however was not, he looked at it from different angles, something was wrong with it he decided, why did the small screen read empty?

"Shepard you need to find a thermal clip for it" The woman's voice said over the intercom.

A what? He thought, he decided to jump that hurdle when he got there and moved to the door, suddenly a rush of imaged filled his head causing him to stumble, gripping the frame for support he could only wait as the faces flashed through his mind, Ashley, Kaidan, Wrex, Garrus...Saren.

He remembered. sovereign, the reapers, they were coming, but more importantly he knew who he was

He was Commander John Shepard, N7 Alliance marine.


	3. Chapter 3

1

Not for the first time Tali thanked Keelah that her suit had it's own thermal regulation system as she looked over the snow covered town below her. Night had fallen over the human colony Freedom's progress, But something was wrong. She was here to answer a distress call but the town looked as peaceful as it could be, no visible signs of struggle, at least not from the hill she stood on and she could make out the distant hum of the towns machinery. Oh well, we didn't fly here for nothing, Tali thought to herself, though she was aware that she was potentially damning Veetor if she found him in good health, the penalty for a false distress call was severe, if he was lucky he would return from pilgrimage in shame, never being able to hold a ship name, if he was not he could face banishment from the fleet.

Suddenly a voice sounded from behind her said, "Are we going to bother disturbing this town?, I doubt they will appreciate us walking in armed. Veetor was always a little off in the head and I wouldn't be surprised if he activated it because a human yelled at him too loudly." The voice was laced with contempt.

"Regardless of whether the call was genuine or not Prazza, it's our duty to either assist him or bring him in to answer to the admiralty board." Tali replied coolly.

"Yes, im sure they would want to know why we're wasting valuable fleet reso-"

"Enough Prazza," Tali interrupted, unwilling to continue the conversation. "lets get this over with - and holster your weapons, we don't want to scare anyone."

"Ma'am." came another voice, one of the younger members of the team, "I believe I saw Veetor as we pasted over, his red suit stands out"

"Thank you Kurta" Tali replied, "lets move out".

Something wasn't right, Tali thought as they walked into the colony, Even at this time of night someone should have come out to meet them. Out of the corner of her visor she saw Kurta moving off to so the right.

"Kurta", Tali whispered, "where are you going?"

"Look ma'am", he replied, "these tables still have food laid out, and over there, tools just lying around".

This only put Tali further on edge, Why would they leave everything lying around? That not something farmers do. A sudden noise caused all of them to snap to attention, weapons drawn. A lone security mech stood up in a corner...And just stood there, as if considering something. The sound of sliding doors heralded the arrival of two more mechs, another two rounded the corner of a building.

"TAKE COVER!" Tali shouted, diving behind a stack of crates, Chaos erupting all around her. Drawing her shotgun she risked a glance around the crate, two of the mechs were down, a testament to the efficiency of the squad, one squeeze of the trigger and another fell missing it head, the last two, still close together after exiting the building were both caught in a overload explosion, sending them crashing to the ground.

Slowly she stood up surveying the area around them, there didn't seem to be any more mechs but to be on the safe side she ordered the team to move up into a nearby prefab unit. Confident there were no unpleasant surprises waiting she moved over to a nearby computer terminal and in a matter of seconds she brought a holographic map of the colony.

"Kurta, were did you see Veetor?" she asked.

"He would have been over here" he replied, pointing to a spot not too far from their position. "But he looked to be moving towards a block of buildings further along", he indicated a building marked 'Colony control'. "If he was heading here Ma'am that would mean he is the one controlling the mechs".

"That little bosh'tet!" Prazza hissed, "ill shoot him myself!".

"Prazza!" tali almost shouted, "you said it yourself, Veetor is unstable, something's terrified him-look around, there are no colonists here it's a ghost town, whatever happened here has pushed him over the edge", taking a deep breath she turned back to the map and said, "the best route seems to be.."

The sound of the doors sliding open interrupted her and once again they all snapped their weapons up and focused them on the three humans who had just walked in and drawn their own pistols. One was lightly armored, one of the few humans she had seen who had black skin. The woman on the Left was a strange sight though, covered from neck to toe in a skin tight suit, raven hair framed her face as she stared down the pistols sights, the sight would have been comical if it were not for the dead serious expression on her face.

The man in the middle however seemed familiar, covered in armor, his face concealed by what her visor indicated was a 'Death mask' helmet. But the logo was one thing she recognized, and so did the rest of her the squad.

"Cerberus" hissed Prazza vas idenna, Raising his rifle.

"Prazza! Stand down, ill handle this" Tali shouted, pushing Prazza's rifle down.

Motioning for the rest of the team to lower their weapons, she spun to face the Cerberus agents. The two agents on either side still had their weapons raised but the one in the middle had his pistol down at his side and seemed to be examining her through his helmet.

"Tali?" asked a voice that rocked her to her core.

Not possible...Tali thought as she stared in shock as the armored figure removed his helmet. The face was impossibly familiar, one she knew so well, the face belonged to a friend... and a dead man.

"Shepard?"

—

Miranda was seething as she watched Tali walk away with Veetor, they had come all this way, fought through all the security even took down a heavy YMIR mech and for what? An unstable Quarian who Shepard handed over to his former team mate despite the potential information he had.

"What the hell are you doing Shepard? He could have valuable information! We need to take him with us!" she all but shouted.

"Miranda" Shepard said in an even tone, "I am in charge of this mission, I decide which choices we make, Veetor is near insane, we have his omni tool data, and we know that the collectors are behind these abductions", he turned away to the screens, obviously unwilling to continue.

Still furious she stormed outside, resisting the impulse to scream she kicked a detached arm of the YMIR mech. Why is Shepard refusing to co-operate? She thought to herself, Dammit I should've put the control chip in anyway and to hell with what the illusive man thought.

Alcohol...sweet alcohol, he thought as he stared into his glass. It seemed to be the only thing that seemed to fill the void, albeit only temporarily. He had always despised those that tried to drown their sorrows in drink, but in his present state he was forced to re-think his position. Being able to fly again after so long was...somewhat liberating he considered, but it did nothing to quell the memories of the commander, dammit why didn't I just leave straight away, He thought to himself for what must have been the third time since he began that nights drinking binge. Gah..I need a drinking buddy, he thought, the problem with this was obvious, he didn't have anyone left to drink with. None of the Normandy's old crew were available, hell I don't even know where half of them are, he thought glumly.

"Mr Moreau?" came a feminine voice from behind him.

"Yeah, what?" he replied, in no mood to talk

"Sorry to disturb you, would you prefer I called you joker?"

"I would prefer you didn't call me at all, but you got something for me I guess"

"Yes, the illusive man himself requests that you pilot a new cutting edge ship, here take a look."

He couldn't believe it, it was the Normandy, no it was the Normandy's big brother, the thing was almost twice the size of the original!.

"Sorry...miss?"

"Kelly chambers", she said smiling, flicking her red hair out of her face.

"Right, Kelly...I...i cant pilot this...copy, it was the commander who made the Normandy. It just wouldn't be the same."

Kelly smiled a knowing smile and said, "I think you should meet it's commanding officer before making any decision".

"Why who is he?", Joker asked curiously.

Kelly's grin widened, "Commander John Shepard".


End file.
